I developed my program, Discovering the Gifts of Autism Spectrum Music Students, because I believe many teachers make a judgment call on a student's ability, then write them off. That happened to me when I was in high school and accompanied the choir. It also happened to me when I was in grad school.

My choir director was verbally abusive over and over in front of others. Verbally abusive. Somehow I persevered because I deeply wanted to accompany the choir, but I never ever want to see anyone treated like that. And when I was working on my graduate degree, I was a bit older than the other graduate students, and my teacher then, let me know in more subtle ways that he really didn't think much of my ability, or potential.

This was very destructive to me. I pushed through it, and I don’t allow students to be treated like that in my studio. 

Because of these experiences, I deeply care for students on the Autism Spectrum, as I know society tends to believe these students don’t have as much potential as neurotypical children. And I know some teachers push these children out of their studios because these teachers become overwhelmed when working with these kids. I was also overwhelmed as a teacher, until I discovered some of the gifts of ASD children, and the secrets of working with them. So, I developed a program for parents and for teachers of autism, spectrum students, and, ADHD, because there is some overlap. I have four pillars in my program—these are, mindfulness, modeling, movements, and musicality.

Mindfulness, for calming and focusing techniques, modeling, to help students develop their own ability to self-regulate, and movements that interconnect and integrate the brain hemispheres with the body, so that the body and brain can work together. ASD students, (not all), can be clumsy, physically, and have more difficulty with technique. And finally, musicality, where students can find their own expression, their own voice, their own way of expressing the deepest parts of their being. When these four pillars work together, the student can feel calm, relaxed, and free, and have a wonderful outlet, and all they learn in this way can help them thrive personally as well.

If you have any questions, and if this resonates with you, please leave a comment in the comments below.

Thanks.